Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem F-8E Crusader

[Leading Observer]

Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem [Knights Hospitaller] F-8E Crusader

In the aftermath of WW2 the Italian Air Force was limited by  Peace Treaty to just 400 airframes, none of which could be classed as bombers.
However the expansion of the Soviet Bloc and advent of the Cold War meant  that NATO wanted to modernise the capabilities of the Italian Air Force, but couldn't do so with the airframe cap imposed by the Treaty.
This problem was solved by transferring aircraft, mainly older training and transport types, from the Italian inventory, to a separate sovereign nation, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as The Sovereign Military Order of Malta [SMOoM], the modern successor to the original Knights Hospitaller.
The SMOoM, which was not a party to the Peace Treaty signed by the Italians, was thus seen as being independent from Italy and a suitable vehicle to receive the Italian aircraft. Although it had no territory of its own, the SMOoM was allowed to base its aircraft in both Italy and Malta and operate Repatriation and Relief flights. As a result the Knights maintained an independent Air Force until he Treaties were reworked and the aircraft returned to the Italians in the 1950's, and the Knights air wing was quietly disbanded.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy, during his visit to Rome for Pope Paul VI's Coronation, had a private meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican Palace. At this meeting the Pope asked for JFK's help in re-establishing the Air Wing of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on a more permanent basis, as the Church wanted to start new humanitarian aid flights into areas where aid was needed, primarily the Middle East and Africa, without having to seek outside assistance.
As some of these areas would be in war zones, the SMOoM wanted to include some defensive capability in its new force. The President agreed to this request and instructed the Chiefs of Staff to assist the Vatican and the SMOoM by organising the necessary aircraft and bases for them.
Aircraft were drawn from across all NATO countries, and crewed by volunteers seconded to the SMOoM. The US Navy supplied two squadrons of F-8E Crusaders. Initially these F-8's were based in Cyprus at RAF Akrotiri, but later some also were based at Rayak Air Base in The Lebanon, from where they carried out Combat Air Patrols over Jerusalem after the 6 Day War until they were withdrawn during the Civil War in 1975.
The aircraft were painted in a distinctive colour scheme and markings to make them easily identifiable by both Israeli and Arab Air Forces.




This started out as a possible build in the 1950's GB https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=51298.0 but I finally got around to finishing it. Enjoy Thanks to Zenrat for the inspiration behind the operator!

[Wardukw]

Bloody hell that looks fan-bloody-tastic 😍 😁😁

[Old Wombat]

 

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

One of the coolest whif ideas I ever see

[zenrat]

"The Pope?  How many divisions does he have?"

Looks good.   
I'd be inclined to build the other side - the forces of the Anarchic Atheist Alliance.
But my suggestion of a Holy War GB was vetoed...

[PR19_Kit]

Harks back to some of Radish's builds. 

[NARSES2]

I like that and I also like the idea of resurrecting some of the Military Orders 

[Rheged]

I like that and I also like the idea of resurrecting some of the Military Orders 

Some of the military orders have never actually gone away.  Here  (if you scroll down) is a fairly comprehensive list for those wishing to take this thought further  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_order_(religious_society)   

[Glenn Gilbertson]

That's a beauty - very impressive!

Back in 2007 we had n Anglo-Celtic War thread, in which a Vatican Air Force was proposed:

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=16632.msg236172#msg236172

[buzzbomb]

Love it.

A Crusader Crusader 

[DogfighterZen]

    

[Pellson]

Great backstory, but outright magnificent build! What a beauty!! 

[Doug K]

Love the back story (and the model of course)

[The Rat]

 

[chrisonord]

Could have sworn.I had commented on this, the crusader certainly looks the part in that scheme, very nice. Making me.chomp.at the bit to build my crusaders.